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Alan Crean, Creganna's senior vice president of commercial operations

A study conducted by technology consulting firm Cambridge Consultants and Creganna Medical Devices (Galway, Ireland) revealed that more than 5 million diagnostic and therapeutic interventional cardiology procedures were performed in the United States in 2004. The prevalence of interventional cardiology procedures coupled with the rise of minimally invasive surgery results in a demand for improved tools and devices.

In response to this demand, Creganna unveiled the PoleVault hypotube at MD&M West.

The stainless-steel hypotube is an integral component in angioplasty procedures that pushes the balloon to the clogged artery. The study also indicated that, although most cardiologists were satisfied with current hypotube design, they would benefit from one that demonstrated more kink resistance.

However, a dilemma has upset hypotube manufacturing in the past. “Traditionally, the problem has been that the improvement of one particular product feature comes at the expense of another,” says Alan Crean, senior vice president of commercial operations, in a press briefing at MD&M West.

The PoleVault breaks from this inefficient cycle. The company touts its product as being 40% more kink resistant than conventional hypotubes, without compromising other key features. And the importance of maintaining a kink-resistant hypotube is crucial. Kinks during angioplasties can cause fractures, increase surgery time, and induce patient trauma.

In addition to its kink-resistant properties, the product also boasts a resistance to package set. Whereas conventional hypotubes obtain curvature upon removal from packaging that may interfere with the angioplasty, the PoleVault does not take on the shape of its packaging, says Crean. Furthermore, the ability of the hypotube to revert to its original form when extracted from packaging provides more packaging options and may reduce rejection rates during manufacture, he adds.